Next week we’ll finally launch the competition to choose two people who will be the inaugural Kwesé Entrepreneur Fellows. Working from the Kwesé offices in Johannesburg, they’ll win an opportunity to interact with me and some of my team on a daily basis.

These two people (one of whom must be a woman) will also be given an opportunity to pitch for a $100,000 investment into their idea (business or social).

(We hoped to get started earlier this year, but putting together a process has not been easy because we’ve all been very busy!)

Anyway, in preparation let me tell the people who are interested in participating, they must appreciate that it will be a very rigorous process!

Anyone can win (they don’t have to be university graduates or highly educated, or even have an existing enterprise of their own). We are interested in someone who is very hard working, methodical and diligent.

The eventual two winners will be selected by followers on this platform acting as a “Shark Tank” type panel, who will then (like investors) vote for whom they think I should give $100,000.

Contestants will be taken through a two-stage process in which they must show complete knowledge about Kwesé services, based on what I have said about them, and what is on all our websites. They will need to have a very good understanding of Kwesé programming. You don’t have to own a decoder to have such knowledge as all the information is on our websites and Apps.

If a participant gets to Stage Two by passing the programming test (a series of four quizzes over several weeks) then they will then be required to prepare a pitch on their own business or social enterprise in a short video.

If you or someone you know is interested, they can begin right away to prepare for Stage One. The information on the quizzes is available to those who can study and answer questions (which will be posted regarding on knowledge from these three websites and apps):

About Strive Masiyiwa

Strive Masiyiwa is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet, a diversified global telecommunications group with operations and investments in over 15 countries. His business interests also include renewable energy, financial services, media and hospitality.
Masiyiwa serves on a number of international boards, including Unilever, Rockefeller Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Advisory Board, the Africa Progress Panel, the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board for Sustainable Energy, Morehouse College, Hilton Foundation's Humanitarian Prize Jury and the Kenjin-Tatsujin International Advisory Council. He is one of the founders, with Sir Richard Branson, of the global think tank, the Carbon War Room, and a founding member of the Global Business Coalition on Education.
Masiyiwa took over the Chairmanship of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) from Kofi Annan. He is also Chair of the Micronutrient Initiative, a global organization focused on ending child hunger and improving nutrition. In 2012, Masiyiwa was invited by President Obama to address leaders at the Camp David G-8 Summit on how to increase food production and end hunger in parts of Africa.
In 2014, Masiyiwa was selected to Fortune Magazine’s list of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders”. As a philanthropist, he is a member of the Giving Pledge, and his contributions to education, health and development have been widely recognized. Masiyiwa and his wife finance the Higher Life Foundation, which provides scholarships to over 42,000 African orphans.
In 2015, he was the recipient of the International Rescue Committee’s Freedom Award and was presented with a UN Foundation Global Leadership Award for the work of the Africa Against Ebola Solidarity Trust, which he chairs and helped establish to fund the deployment of African healthcare workers to combat the outbreak in West Africa.

14 thoughts on “Now for some news you’ve been waiting for…”

He said the information is available to those with a decoder OR those who can study the tree websites and the two apps. The options we have are two, if you don’t have a decoder then study the tree websites and the two apps

My reply,
You are right. You don’t need a decoder. I made that very clear. Everything you need to win the competition will be on the websites and the Apps.

Afterthought 1.
Believe in yourself as an entrepreneur. Here’s some food for thought attributed to Bill Gates: “I failed some subjects in exam, but my friend passed in all. Now he is an engineer in Microsoft and I am the owner of Microsoft.”

Thanks to you Strive Masiyiwa. But since information on the quizz is available to those with a decoder only, i think this opportunity is not to the advantage of common man like me who now lives in an area where access to the use of Tv Decoder is greately lacking.

My reply,
You don’t need a decoder.
Even before you have seen the details, you are disqualifying yourself. Study the websites and wait for the details.
You don’t even need to be in Africa, or African to win.

Afterthought:
In any competitive situation, it is important to read the directions very carefully.
For instance this competition is open to everyone, even if you are not an entrepreneur , or you are unemployed.
Already I have seen lots of people disqualifying themselves, by making assumptions rather than reading carefully.

Anyone from anywhere in the world, this line brought such a big smile on my face..
I am going to put my best Sir.. I want to take hold of this opportunity and transform my life. Wow. I am already feeling soooo excited, I can see myself standing infront of you and you are congratulating me.. omg such a wonderful opportunity
Thank you so much sir

Mr. Strive sir: We ‘ll be much grateful if you can post the winners of the contests so we all applaud them and wish them well.

My reply,
You are the one who is going to choose the winners. Im not going to choose anyone!
1. The top contestants from the quiz will be asked to prepare a 5 minute video using a smartphone. They can only use a smartphone.
They must explain how the $100,000 (investment) will help them.

It will be a “pitch” on their business or social venture (or NGO).
2. We will post the videos, and you will be asked to “like” the one you think is the best.

My suggestion is that Mr Masiyiwa should not vote for any competitor. This is to avoid a situation where we do not have people voting for someone simply because the chairman voted for them. Just a suggestion.

My reply,
As I said already, I will not vote for anyone or even comment on your submissions.
The people who score the highest on the quiz automatically gets invited to submit their 5 minute video pitch.

The two winners based on the number of votes will be selected from you the members of this platform.
We will also make sure that people don’t vote for winners on the basis of where they come from, but on merit.

Afterthought:
For those of you who watch Shark Tank on Kwese Inc, you will know by now that it is extremely difficult to get an investor to put money into an “idea”.
They always want you to have started something, even if it is very small.
If you go to an investor with just an idea, or a concept, unless you have a patent for an invention, it is almost impossible to get any money.

Strive Masiyiwa This is really deep. Most times it seems we always try to appeal to the sympathetic part of the investor rather than the investive! Alot to swallow.

My reply,
A lot of people confuse investors with donors, and philanthropists…Someone trying to help them.
Until now most African entrepreneurs have had little interactions with investors, hence the confusion. This is changing, and it is my job to prepare you. Otherwise you will be disappointed, and real investors will turn their attention to other parts of the world where people are better prepared.
Remember always that the investor has more options than the person looking for investment!

An investor is a business partner first and foremost.
There are three things that you must try and demonstrate:
1. That you are going to make money.
2. You know how to run a business and scale it.
3. You can be trusted not to lose or abuse the money you are given.

This is why I have invested in programming like Shark Tank, only available on Kwese Inc. I want you to see how investors and entrepreneurs work in other parts of the world.

Simple…… Because people like helping people who are already helping themselves.

My reply,
“Helping” is a prohibited word when dealing with investors. The word is “investing”.
I’m not playing with words. If you approach an investor with the mindset that you are looking for “help” then you put them off.

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About Strive Masiyiwa

MR STRIVE MASIYIWA (b 1961) has been in business since 1986. He first came to international prominence when he fought a landmark constitutional legal battle for 5 years in the African country of Zimbabwe. The ruling which led to the removal of the monopoly of the state in telecommunications is generally regarded as one of the key milestones, in opening the African telecommunications sector to private capital. Read More>>